What is the feeling that can engulf a captain of an Ashes series who has just won the contest? Pride, you may say! And this is exactly how Alastair Cook felt after England reclaimed the famous urn at the Oval on Sunday.

The England captain described winning the Ashes series as the "proudest moment of my life".

England, chasing 227 to win a home Ashes series 4-0 for the first time, were 21 runs short of their target when bad light forced the players off four overs early and the match ended in a draw.

"It would have been nice to finish with a win but the rules and regulations are there for a reason," Cook said at the presentation ceremony after lifting the famous urn while red and white fireworks erupted around the ground to celebrate England's third Ashes win in a row.

"The umpires have strict guidelines and, if it was day three, we would have gone off. This morning our job was to try and make it as difficult as possible to stop Australia from pushing on for a win and to make our chances of victory easier.

"The crowds have been fantastic for all five Tests and I'm privileged to captain this group of guys. Winning this series is the proudest moment of my life."

Image: England's captain Alastair Cook lifts the replica Ashes urn and celebrates with teammates after the fifth Ashes Test ended in a draw and England won the series 3-0 at the Oval cricket ground in London on SundayPhotographs: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

'It's been a tough battle and we're all looking forward to a break'

England batsman Ian Bell was named his team's player of the series after scoring 562 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 62.44.

"On a personal note it's nice to contribute," Bell said. Going into the series I was low on scores -- kept getting caught in the covers -- but to get hundreds helped the team win some Test matches. As the series went on, I got better and better."

Bell made his Ashes debut in 2005 as a junior member of Michael Vaughan's England team who won back the urn.

"I don't think I was very good back in 2005 but I learnt some big lessons in that series," Bell added.

"I am a more senior player now and I am contributing more. It's been a tough battle and we're all looking forward to a break from Test cricket for a while."

Image: Tim Bresnan, Ian Bell and Alastair Cook of England pose with the urn after winning the Ashes on SundayPhotographs: Gareth Copley/Getty Images